Legal Essentials for E-Commerce Websites
- Jackie Atchison
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Intro
Selling online means more than just setting up a shopping cart and waiting for orders. If you’re running an ecommerce site, you’ve got legal obligations—whether you’re selling digital products, physical goods, or booking services.
This post covers the key legal documents every ecommerce website needs and what they should include to protect your business, your customers, and your compliance.
Why It Matters
Online transactions come with added legal risk. You’re handling payments, customer data, delivery promises, refunds, and returns. If your terms aren’t clear (or are missing altogether), you could face disputes, chargebacks, or compliance issues with consumer law.
The right legal documents do more than keep you covered—they set expectations and help build customer trust.
What You Need to Know
Customer Reviews and Moderation
If your site displays customer reviews or testimonials, you’re responsible for ensuring they’re genuine and not misleading. Under Australian Consumer Law, selectively showing only positive reviews or editing out negative feedback can amount to misleading conduct. If you moderate or filter reviews, make sure you have a clear, consistent process—and be transparent about how it works.
Core Legal Documents for Ecommerce Sites
Terms of Sale - Sets out the commercial terms: pricing, payment methods, order acceptance, delivery process, and refund or cancellation policies. Should reflect how you actually operate and include a clear process for resolving disputes.
Privacy Policy - Required under Australian law if you collect personal information (and you do, if you take names, emails, addresses or payment details). Must be consistent with your actual data handling practices.
Website Terms of Use - Governs how users interact with your site—especially relevant if your site has login features, user accounts, or gated content.
Refunds, Returns, and Shipping Policy - Especially critical for physical goods. These should be clearly worded, comply with Australian Consumer Law, and be visible before checkout.
Cookie Notice (if applicable) - If you use analytics tools, retargeting, or third-party cookies, it’s best practice to let users know and explain what’s being collected.
Tip: These documents need to be accessible before purchase—not hidden in a footer or sent after checkout.
What’s Often Missed
Automatically generated receipts or order confirmation emails that contradict your website terms (e.g. saying "no refunds" when your terms say otherwise)
No clear link to refund, shipping, or cancellation terms before purchase
Using terms copied from overseas websites that don’t comply with Australian Consumer Law
No specific terms for digital products (e.g. access limits, download rights, or refund restrictions for non-tangible goods)
No clause covering chargebacks, late delivery disputes or platform downtime
Leaving out dispute resolution processes or governing law, especially if selling to international customers
Commercial Insight
The best ecommerce sites don’t just look trustworthy—they operate with clarity and structure. Your legal documents should mirror how you actually run your store and provide you with the protections you need if a customer complains, cancels, or defaults.
When terms are clear and aligned with your systems, you’ll spend less time handling disputes and more time fulfilling orders.
What to Do Next to Get Your E-Commerce Website Legally Sound
Review your purchase process from the customer’s perspective
Make sure key legal documents are accessible and consistent with your workflows
Check that your refund, returns and delivery terms are clear and compliant
Get legal advice if you sell across borders, handle subscriptions, or deal with sensitive information
Closing Wrap
I help e-commerce businesses put the right legal documents in place for their websites—from terms of sale and refund policies to privacy compliance and dispute terms. If your online store is live and your legals need a proper review, I can help.
